This past summer the Lakers made a deal with the Houston Rockets to absorb Jeremy Lin contract into their cap space, with Houson's 2015 first-round pick heading to LA as payment. The Rockets were doing everything they could to free up cap space to chase after Chris Bosh in free agency, a pursuit that ultimately yielded a "thanks, but no thanks" from Miami's star power forward. With Houston's failure to land Bosh and their subsequent decision not to match the contract Dallas offered to restricted free agent Chandler Parsons it appeared as though the Lakers had pulled off a major coup: they got a talented player plus what would potentially be a mid-round draft pick for nothing more than cap space. Unfortunately, like everything else in Laker Land, things haven't worked out as planned. James Harden and his prehensile beard have dragged the Rockets to a great record, moving their pick to the end of the first round. Even worse, Jeremy Lin is poised to deal a big set-back to the Lakers rebuilding efforts.
When the 2014/2015 season started expectations for Lin were high. While no one anticipated a return to his original Linsanity days in New York it did seem likely that he would be significantly better than he was in Houston. The Rockets essentially use James Harden as their point guard, while their actual point guard is one in name only, instead acting as a "3 and D" player, which is a role that just doesn't fit Lin's skill set.
Coming to the Lakers was supposed to allow Lin, and pick and roll specialist, with the ability to play his game and use the presence of Kobe Bryant to make defenses pay for not paying enough attention to him. That didn't happen though.
He couldn't solidify himself as the Lakers starting point guard even with Steve Nash lost to a luggage injury (no really) and the only remaining competition being journeyman Ronnie Price and rookie combo guard Jordan Clarkson. He looked timid more often than not, and especially so when sharing the floor with Kobe. Aside from an odd game here and there, Lin has spent the majority of the season proving that he was a quality NBA back-up and nothing more rather than re-staking his claim as a star player.
He has been such a disappointment that there were rumblings of him being shipped out of LA. At the trade deadline two weeks ago many expected that Jeremy Lin would find himself wearing another uniform, but he wasn’t playing well enough to garner trade interest and his $8.3 million expiring contract wasn’t all that valuable thanks to a seldom-used rule that requires the Lakers to actually pay him around $15 million. Not surprisingly most owners didn’t want to fork out that kind of cash for a so-so backup point guard.
For Lin things couldn't get much worse, as he is going to be searching for a new contract this summer and the NBA is a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately kind of league. Teams simply aren't going to pay him a big contract for those magical few months in New York. He needed to improve his play, and fast, if he wanted to get a solid deal this summer.
With that being the case the All-Star break provided the perfect opportunity for Lin to clear his head and find his focus. The result has been an incredible, or dare I say Lincredible, improvement in his production.
Take a look at his numbers on the season:
| Season | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | 2P | 2PA | 2P% | FT | FTA | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014-15 | 25.8 | 3.8 | 8.7 | .437 | 0.9 | 2.5 | .365 | 2.9 | 6.2 | .465 | 2.5 | 3.2 | .775 | 0.3 | 2.2 | 2.5 | 4.7 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 2.2 | 10.9 |
Compared to what he's done since the All-Star break:
| Rk | Opp | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | FT | FTA | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 54 | BRK | 24:11 | 6 | 9 | .667 | 1 | 4 | .250 | 5 | 8 | .625 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 18 |
| 55 | BOS | 30:16 | 10 | 15 | .667 | 1 | 3 | .333 | 4 | 6 | .667 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 25 |
| 56 | UTA | 23:38 | 3 | 12 | .250 | 0 | 4 | .000 | 2 | 2 | 1.000 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 |
| 57 | MIL | 29:09 | 4 | 10 | .400 | 1 | 2 | .500 | 5 | 6 | .833 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 14 |
| 58 | OKC | 32:12 | 7 | 14 | .500 | 1 | 3 | .333 | 5 | 6 | .833 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 20 |
| 59 | CHO | 30:15 | 9 | 16 | .563 | 3 | 4 | .750 | 2 | 2 | 1.000 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 23 |
| 60 | MIA | 29:02 | 5 | 12 | .417 | 1 | 4 | .250 | 1 | 2 | .500 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 12 |
| 61 | MEM | 26:51 | 1 | 5 | .200 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 2 | 2 | 1.000 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
Looking beyond the stats, the eye test has shown that Jeremy Lin has morphed into a whole new animal. Gone is the timid, brick-tastic guard who was making his New York days look like a fluke. The new version of Lin is aggressive on both ends of the floor, confident in attacking the basket, and runs the pick and roll like a master. He's got defenses scrambling and on most plays manages to either get himself to the rim or find an open shot for a teammate. When neither materializes his jumper has become a reliant weapon and his handle and quickness provides enough space to get his shot off in tough spots. In short, he has been the player that everyone thought the Lakers were getting when they fleeced the Houston Rockets in July.
Here's the problem though: the only person Jeremy Lin's outstanding play is helping is Jeremy Lin. He has resurrected his career and if he can keep up this level of play will have made himself millions of dollars more than he would have otherwise, and no doubt on a longer contract too. Good news for him, bad news for his team.
The Lakers have been mired in a losing season besieged by injuries, and as a result have found themselves as the 4th-worst team in the NBA based on standings. The one benefit of having a poor record is usually a high draft pick, but the Lakers will have to give theirs to the Sixers if it falls anywhere outside the top 5 (thanks Steve Nash!). This is where the conflict between Lin and Lakers fans rears it's ugly head.
At this point, with no hope of making the playoffs the only thing the that fans have to look forward to is the draft, and due to the NBA's lottery system even 4th place doesn't guarantee them of keeping the pick. In fact 4th place only offers an 83% chance of the Lakers hanging onto their pick, and the numbers get drastically worse should they move up in the standings. This makes Lin's resurgence incredibly dangerous, as with every win the Lakers add to their record they get another step closer to losing their coveted draft pick. This would be a nightmare scenario for the franchise and their legion of supporters.
No. Please God no.
Fans are fully aware of the Lakers precarious position, and have made the decision that while no one likes losing it is a necessary evil at this stage in the rebuild. First round picks are incredibly valuable in today's NBA, and the Lakers simply have to keep theirs if they want to move forward with building a championship team. Anyone getting in the way of that goal risks drawing the ire of the fans, especially when it's someone like Lin who isn't likely to return next season.
*An interesting side note: pre All-Star break Lin wasn't likely to be brought back next year thanks to his poor play and fit alongside Kobe. Post All-Star break Lin may be even less likely to be brought back because now he's going to demand too big of a contract for the Lakers to pay him and still be able to chase superstar free agents. It's too bad, because post All-Star Lin has combined nicely with Jordan Clarkson. The two of them make for a terrorizing whirlwind of slashing, scoring, and dishing, like two purple and gold Tasmanian Devils.
From the fans perspective Jeremy Lin is earning himself a bigger pay day at the expense of the Lakers future. For a fan base that has suffered through three unbearable seasons this is adding insult to Linjury. While the Lakers are currently on a 4-game losing streak, every game has been agonizingly close and the margin for error between them and their tank opponents (PHI, ORL, DEN, SAC, MIN, NY) is razor thin. A single win could end up making the difference between keeping the pick or losing it, and there is no question that the team is much more likely to suffer unwanted victories with Lin playing at his best. As a result fans are on edge each and every game, desperate for losses and painfully Lin push them in the wrong direction.
If anything Lin should be applauded for his tenacity. His job is to be the best basketball player he can and he has battled through adversity to finally bring his best to LA. Fans should be (and are) directing their frustration at Coach Byron Scott, who continues to play the hot hand (usually Lin) during crunch time. Who plays how many minutes is his decision to make, and if he doesn'€™t understand how crucial it is that the team loses then that’s on him and the Lakers organization for not setting him straight.
Still, it's understandable that fans would be frustrated with Lin's impressive Lazarus act. After everything that the Lakers have been through over the past few years tensions are running high in LA. With 21 games left on the schedule every game matters (in a weird, tank-tacular way), and with so much at risk fans are agitated. It's a perfect storm for fans to turn on their own players, even though both sides clearly understand the others motivations.
What it all adds up to is that it's going to be a long 5 weeks until the end of the season. The best-case scenario wold involve Lin continuing to play well and the Lakers not winning. It's an unlikely outcome, especially with games against NY, MIN (twice!), and PHI (twice!) still left on the schedule. We have to hope though, because Jeremy Lin is, from all accounts, a good guy and good teammate. Fans want to be able to want good things for him, but simply can't support him at the expense of the team. If he forces too many wins onto the Lakers record and loses the pick for LA fans, well, that's going to be just Linsufferable.
Ok, I'll stop with the puns now.
Follow me on twitter for more tank-related commiserating @16ringsNBA
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